How to Easily Repeal the Federal Income Tax

As of December 1, 2012, the United States had a total resident population of 315,097,000, making it the third most populous country in the world.

If a majority of those residents (157,548,501 out of 315,097,000) agreed to do away with the federal income tax, a legitimate government would have to do it. If the government were to go against the voice of the people (the majority voice) it would become an illegitimate government. An illegitimate government has no authority over the people and should not be obeyed.

Therefore, given this fundamental principle, here is a strategy on how to quickly and easily do away with the federal income tax:

Disband the IRS, stop enforcing all federal income tax laws and actively work to repeal the 16th Amendment

We petition you to disband the Internal Revenue Service (the IRS), stop enforcing all federal income tax laws and to actively work to repeal the 16th Amendment (the Income Tax amendment.)

This will be the greatest economic stimulus plan in the history of the United States, while still leaving many areas in which the federal government could collect revenue for its proper functions, such as defense.

Only one petition [dallon j‘s petition] should be created, not multiple petitions, and all the signatures ought to go on just that one, singular petition.

Update: this petition is now live as of Tuesday, 22 January 2013. Here are the urls (short and long, either one works) to sign it:

Secondly, this petition needs to be sent far and wide using every possible means of communication: email, 2-cent snail mail, blogs, Facebook, Twitter and all other social media, telephone calls, etc.

Thirdly,AND THIS IS ALL IMPORTANT, everybody who becomes aware of this petition needs to understand that when 157,548,501 signatures are obtained, which is a majority voice, the signers of the petition collectively agree to stop paying federal income tax and to stop filing federal income tax returns,regardless of the White House’s response.

This is because, as the voice of the people, they will be within their legitimate rights to cease paying.

The purpose of the petition is not to get the White House to respond. The purpose of the petition is merely to obtain the voice of the people and to allow the people to see that voice. Once that voice is obtained, in the affirmative, meaning that the voice is against the federal income tax, all signers can justifiably stop paying the tax. Since everyone is doing it as a group, there can be no legitimate consequences, for the federal government cannot legitimately enforce an illegitimate tax, meaning a tax in which the people have removed their support. Also, the government is simply not equipped to deal with 157,548,501 non-payers.

Everyone who signs ought to check the petition daily, to see how many signatures it has gotten. When that magic number (157,548,501) is obtained, you just got yourself a raise.

Once the voice of the people have spoken, if the White House fails to respond, or if it responds by saying that it will still enforce the tax, then lawsuits can ensue according as the people feel it necessary.

If anyone thinks this would be a fun, interesting and timely thing to do, I’ll need someone (just one person, please) to volunteer to create the petition, and then let me know its url. [Update: this is done already.] I will then link to it in this blog post and update the wording accordingly. [Done.] Once linked, anybody else who has a blog, who desires to spread the word, just re-blog this post on your own blog and let’s flood the Internet with a sort of tax revolt.

Note: the We the People web site has a 30-day limit for response. Each petition needs to get 100,000 signatures in the first 30 days in order for the White House to respond. Also, each petition needs 150 signatures in order to have it publicly seen on the We the People web site. The goal of this petition is 157,548,501 signatures (not 100,000), but it needs to obtain that amount in 30 days. So, time is of the essence.

Suggestions on how to promote this

Create a blog post with the following information:

Post Title: How to Repeal Federal Income Tax in 30 days

I just signed a new government (We the People) petition going around.

Everyone who signs it pledges to stop paying income tax when a majority of Americans (157,548,501) sign it.

Here is the text and link to the petition:

Disband the IRS, stop enforcing all federal income tax laws and actively work to repeal the 16th Amendment

We petition you to disband the Internal Revenue Service (the IRS), stop enforcing all federal income tax laws and to actively work to repeal the 16th Amendment (the Income Tax amendment.)

This will be the greatest economic stimulus plan in the history of the United States, while still leaving many areas in which the federal government could collect revenue for its proper functions, such as defense.

The 2nd Amendment is not going anywhere. We should instead be more afraid of the concentration of wealth into fewer and fewer hands, the boldness with which the Gadiantons running Wall St flaunt their power and influence, and thereby avoid not only prosecution for their crimes, but the fact that they are lauded as the only ones who can save the world from global collapse. The Republic will endure until the Lord’s work is finished. We should concern ourselves more with the disparity of wealth, the rise in poverty, and the way the rich despise the poor. You know, those things that forced the Lord to humble the Nephites and which comprise the majority of what the Lord expects from us.

“The purpose of the petition is not to get the White House to respond. The purpose of the petition is merely to obtain the voice of the people and to allow the people to see that voice.”

I would love to believe that there are that many people in the US that would sign it.

A problem I see with it is that the Gov controls that site and could have it disappear or have technical problems or have problems registering an accurate count, before the goal was reached, and yet, I see the need for posting on that site because it provides proof that the Gov is aware of the vote and the voice of the people and has thusly been notified.

Perhaps a mirror site could be created to insure that if the Gov site goes down, another one would continue posting the results of the count. It would also provide for a longer window of time to reach the count.

I realize it would be a hassle for people to vote on two separate sites, but I suppose anyone motivated to vote at all would probably be willing to take a few more seconds to vote on a second site to avoid having everything done in vain.

Perhaps another advantage of the second site is that it provides public verification that the numbers are not being manipulated.

Also, while you could theoretically increase your exemptions to get out of income tax, you could not get out of the other taxes unless you’re self-employed or have an employer willing to risk the wrath of the “Collection Arm of the Gadiantons”, also known as the IRS. 😉

Watcher, I completely agree with you. I thought about that, too, that the gov site might just tamper with the numbers if they got high enough. If you create a mirror, non-gov petition, I’ll put its link up. Or, perhaps some (hacker?) group could monitor the petition and record the sigs somehow, so that there is a duplicate record?

Bro Anon, Mosiah said that if the time ever came that the voice of the people chose iniquity, then destruction would come from the Lord. In such situations, it’s best to be in the minority. But, the rule (not the exception) is that the majority typically holds the righteous voice.

I am afraid I am technically challenged and it is all I can do to successfully log into WordPress after a few tries. There are, however, numerous people who frequent this site, who could probably do it in under an hour.

In that case, what I wrote to you goes equally for anyone else who wants to do it. Just leave a comment on this post with the link and I’ll put up the mirror site (and also the petition, should someone create one.)

Another idea, should this appeal to people, is to set a date and time for the petition to go live. So, a person could be designated (anyone who volunteers would do) to create the petition at, say, 12 pm Eastern Standard Time on Thursday, January 17th. (I’m just throwing out an arbitrary day and time.) That would give people time to write blog posts, send emails and generally tell others about the petition and the time of its launch. When that time came, I’d post the link here on this post, and everyone else would get the link from here and post it on their own blogs, or in their own emails, etc. Then, all those who have been anticipating the petition would then sign, generating a vast number of signatures right from the start. This would surely cause the mainstream media to take notice, creating even more exposure, allowing that extremely high number (157 million) to more attainable.

I suppose some people might think that getting 157 million signatures is impossible, but we are talking taxes here, people. I suspect this is the one cause that a majority of Americans could unite behind. In my estimation, if the petition doesn’t get 157 million signatures, it won’t be because there aren’t that many people who would sign it, but because it didn’t circulate enough among the people. In other words, it would be because 157 million people didn’t get to know about it. But if they know about it, they will likely sign it, especially when they see that many, many others have signed, for people do like to be part of a movement.

Regarding the point that the majority is usually (typically) right (righteous), the founders of this nation wisely saw in their day, from experience and careful study of history that various minority points of view, cultures, ought to be enfranchised, and not marginalized.

To say there are only two possible positions, the right and the wrong, I Believe is too narrow of a perspective, the nuance of individual points of view is a reality, thus the founders were wise to establish a Republic, not a pure democracy where the majority rules. In a republic, of the type we have in America, every individual citizen is ideally esteemed, equal and sovereign, therefore we have 315,000,000 plus citizen sovereigns, ideally.

The restoration of the fullness of the gospel is the overarching and undergirding principle which presents this to our minds, for in its full manifestation in the celestial kingdom all are “equal in power and in might and in dominion”. Sovereign!

What an idea!

It might be well for each to do a study on the history of the 16th amendment to the US Constitution of how it came to be, if it was properly ratified, and if it is actually in harmony with the Constitution on taxation.

For more information about the 16th Amendment, The Claremont Institute has an article on their web site called, Repeal the 16th Amendment. Here’s a long excerpt:

The Founders who designed our Constitution sought to balance the power of the federal government against the states in order to keep both in check. The national government was thus originally prohibited from collecting taxes from individuals. Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution states: “No capitation, or other direct Tax, shall be laid unless in Proportion to the Census or Enumeration.” This meant that the federal government could collect revenue from the states according to population, but had to leave the methods of collection to them. The federal government was to collect revenue in other, less intrusive ways (tariffs, excise taxes, consumption taxes) so as to limit the amount of money it could raise by its own authority.

For many of the Founders, the very idea of taxing individuals (as opposed to objects, as with a sales tax) was highly offensive. These “capitations” or “head taxes” were regarded as options of last resort, only to be imposed in war or other emergency. The first federal income tax was imposed during the Civil War; it was soon repealed. Not until the 1890s did Congress assess a peacetime income tax. The Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional in 1895. Referring to the explicit prohibition against direct taxation in Article I, the court argued that the income tax would excessively enhance federal power in relation to state power.

The court explained that the rule against direct federal taxation was intended to “promote prudence and economy in expenditure,” and, quoting Alexander Hamilton, to ensure that “the abuse of this power of taxation [would be] provided against with guarded circumspection.”

The Supreme Court’s ruling was nullified when an overwhelming majority in Congress and three-fourths of the state legislatures ratified the 16th Amendment. The votes came amid a frenzy of “soak the rich” rhetoric, which overwhelmed considerations of broader constitutional interests. But experience has taught us that the rich are hard to tax, because it is easy for them to put their money where it does not yield much income. Anyway, most of the money in America belongs to the middle class. Lacking access to sophisticated shelters, we are easy to tax.

Although the first income tax in 1913 was very limited–it applied to just 2% of the labor force, and its highest rate was 7%–it prepared the way for the federal government’s almost unlimited access to revenue. It thus provided an almost unlimited ability to fund programs that are properly state matters–crime fighting, education, welfare–and to pressure the states into conforming to a national standard in matters that should reflect regional differentiation, like speed limits and drinking ages.

The 16th Amendment gave Congress the power to impose an income tax, allowing it to tax and spend to a degree previously unimaginable. This amendment enabled Congress to evade the constitutional limits placed on its own power by effectively bribing states. Once states are “hooked” on receiving federal funds, they can be coerced to obey federal dictates or lose the revenue.

Many of the calls to repeal the amendment also come attached to replacement taxes which aim to fill the coffers back up. Personally, I say let the feds go back to apportionment if they want to levy a direct tax, and excises if they don’t. The beast needs to go on an extended fast to get it back into proper size and shape. And I care little for waiting until the amendment is repealed through legislation, which would likely be doomed to failure, anyway. Just getting the common consent of the majority, through this petition, is sufficient justification to opt out. The people themselves can nullify and repeal anything by their voice alone. A legislator is not the be all and end all of the matter.

That was a classic exchange, wasn’t it? I don’t see that happening with this thread. This post has gotten around 60 views since its inception and not a single person has offered to create the petition on the gov web site, so I suspect that the combination of the red and black Anarchy is Order symbol with the words “repeal the federal income tax” will prove much too anarchic for most Americans. I suspect fear will keep most everyone away. The only way the idea promoted in this post would get any traction, in my opinion, would be for people to start re-blogging it on non-anarchy sites. In other words, it would need to be promoted apart from this site, initially using social media and the Internet, and secondarily using off-line means, with no mention of where the idea originated from.

It would be a rather simple thing to peacefully take down the federal income tax, by having a re-blog/re-post/re-email campaign, where everyone who agrees with this idea spreads the word without mentioning where it comes from. In fact, it could be done without bells and whistles, just giving the text of the petition, its link, the “pledge” to opt out of the tax once a majority of Americans have signed (157,548,501) and the petition’s deadline. And also an encouragement for others to sign, take the pledge and spread the word.

For example:

I just signed a new government (We the People) petition going around. Everyone who signs it pledges to stop paying income tax when a majority of Americans (157,548,501) sign it. Here is the text and link to the petition:

No Longer Enforce the Federal Income Tax

We petition you to disband the Internal Revenue Service (the IRS), stop enforcing all federal income tax laws and to actively work to repeal the 16th Amendment (the Income Tax amendment.)

This will be the greatest economic stimulus plan in the history of the United States, while still leaving many areas in which the federal government could collect revenue for its proper functions, such as defense.

To sign this petition, visit [petition link].

The petition ends on [date].

I encourage you to sign the petition and take this same pledge. Please spread the word by re-blogging, using social media, and word of mouth!

Even if the petition fails to garner a majority, let’s say it garners only 1/3 of the population, it would still serve as a useful gauge of American tax opinion and more organized (less anarchic) methods could then be built upon it to eliminate the tax. The possibilities are endless as to what can be done.

I think this idea might appeal to people because nobody would pledge to opt out of the tax (risking repercussions) until it was demonstrated that the majority was of the same view. People like to follow what the majority does. It is the human “herd mentality” nature. There is, indeed, safety in numbers. If a majority says, “no,” to the income tax, then it has been completely nullified and people can safely (without repercussions) opt out. Even if the minority protests and seeks to enforce the laws, they will always be outvoted on the issue.

How does the saying go? First people fear change, then resist it, then embrace it? Or something to that effect. There may initially be resistance to the petition, but as it gather tens of millions of signatures, those who at first thought it had no possibility of achieving its goal (and thus refused to sign it) will reconsider the issue and begin to imagine a world without the income tax, realizing that this may, indeed, be the one opportunity to get rid of it. Then they will sign and spread the word themselves. So, if it gets off the ground, at all, it will reach a point at which it becomes viral and everyone will jump on board. In other words, if it gets to 157,548,501 signatures, it won’t stop at 157,548,501, but will keep soaring past, for long before then people will want to be apart of the grassroots movement that “took down the income tax.” (That would be a historical moment, one for the history books, and no one will want to have to tell their children that they were the minority voice who refused to support this tax freedom.) Maybe the tipping point will be 100 million, maybe 50 million. Who knows, but whatever the number is, it will then soar past the goal and people will be justifiably free from this tax. Then Gerald Celente will get the tax protest he predicted (back in 2009) to happen in 2012. (Which prediction never came true.)

This is a good idea, the “deport Piers Morgan” petition begun on Dec. 21st ’12 on the We the People website got over 100,000 signitures in about 16 days, which is quite astounding.

Can the numbers of signitures on this income tax petition be multiplied fast enough to to reach the goal in 30 days? We will see. It certainly is a worthy goal! Yes I agree a large number of signitures would catch attention of the establishment in DC, and in New York, and the people across the country and world, even if the goal is not met.

By the way, for those of you who know about the “Obama Phone Lady”, has been located and has accepted the offer to come on the “Alex Jones show”, Infowars.com, today, live at about 11:30 am MST, it will be retransmitted throughout the day.

Okay, great! We’ll have you create the petition and I’ll update the above post to reflect that. What say we put a day and time for it to go live, such as maybe next week, whenever it would be convenient for you, and I’ll put that in the post, too? That will give people time to start putting up their notices on blogs, Twitter, Facebook, etc., of what’s going to go down. That way we can jump start this into the stratosphere. (In theory.)

Don’t create the petition until that appointed day and time, because the White House starts counting down from 30 the moment it is created.

Just let me know now the day and time you plan on creating it, and then when you do create it, leave a comment here with the link. There are usually two links, one a long one and one a shorter one. If you have both, I’ll put them both up. Thanks!

“A problem I see with it is that the Gov controls that site and could have it disappear or have technical problems or have problems registering an accurate count, before the goal was reached, and yet, I see the need for posting on that site because it provides proof that the Gov is aware of the vote and the voice of the people and has thusly been notified.”

this definitely happened before with some of their cannabis petitions, so it wouldn’t be suprising

If anyone knows of any organizations that favor repealing the income tax, such as libertarians, anarchists, tax protestors, tea partiers, constitutionalists, third parties, the mafia and other organized crime syndicates (I’m only kidding on those last two), etc., it may be a good time to contact them via email, telephone or snail mail and let them know about this.

BTW – You can use this to your advantage (from the handbook) “Church members are obligated by the twelfth article of faith to obey the tax laws of the nation where they reside (see also D&C 134:5). Members who disapprove of tax laws may try to have them changed by legislation or constitutional amendment.”

I’m no tax expert, but I suppose you would choose the “exempt” option on a new W-4 form, and then simply not file a return.

All things must be done in the church by common consent, so trying to have the tax laws changed by legislation or constitutional amendment are not the only options. The idea behind this petition is to obtain the voice of the people (the majority voice.) Once people see that a majority of Americans consent to removing their support of the income tax by opting out, latter-day saints are obligated to do its business by that voice. Tax laws (or any laws) do not have to be first removed from the books by legislation or constitutional amendment. They may also be simply nullified by the voice of the people.

We in the church ought to understand this principle quite well, since all our business is done by viewing the voice of the congregation, whether for or against, when they raise their hands. So, if this amendment gets a majority of signatures, no latter-day saint is justified in saying that opting out is a sin or against the laws of God.

I had a thought about how to make sure that the gov site doesn’t manipulate the numbers. Perhaps people can use screen captures when signing, or some one or some group could routinely (at least daily) do a screen capture of the number of signatures on the petition. Wouldn’t that serve as a safeguard or a kind of mirror site? Perhaps people could be encouraged to sign the petition and then take a screen capture of the numbers. Then we’d have evidence in case the petition goes down the memory hole.

One problem I haven’t seen addressed is the unreliable nature of online polls. They can be good symbols or PR tools, but are notoriously unreliable and inaccurate, not to mention easily manipulated. Which is why not a single State that has a Ballot Initiative process allows online signature gathering.

I understand I’m in the minority here on this one, but because the Lord is a God of order, I don’t see how an easily abused and unreliable method of vote gathering should be honored. Do you feel that the Church should be bound by an online poll of members that called for giving women the Priesthood?

As for claiming tax exempt status, I would be careful. The W-4 is considered a legal document and lying about your tax status could, if discovered, not only involve large fines and the payment of any tax owed, but potentially time in jail as well. Not to mention that falsely claiming such status would violate the 9th Commandment. 🙂

Finally, the legality of the 16th Amendment, the IRS, and the Income Tax itself has been in and out of the courts since each was first introduced. Each and every time the Tax and IRS have been found to be legal because of the 16th Amendment, which in turn has been declared valid by a number of courts, including the Supreme Court. Sorry, but it isn’t going away any time soon.

Oh, I don’t advocate that anyone do any lying, at all. If you are exempt, then claim exemption. If you are not exempt, then don’t claim it. Each person must make that determination him or herself.

Also, I don’t think this petition will remove the 16th Amendment from the books. Even if three-fourths of Americans sign it, I do not expect the president to do anything about it, although it may galvanize other movements. The principle of this petition is based on law nullification. You can have as many laws as you want on the books, but if the majority of the people refuse to enforce them or acknowledge their validity (despite what any court may say), they are of none effect.

I can’t say how reliable the We the People web site is. I know they ask for a first and last name and an email address, and when it is listed, they only show the first name and the first letter of the last name. You can also put your city and state, but don’t have to. Each signature must use a unique email address, which would help to prevent abuse.

I don’t see anyone trying to inflate the numbers, since we are talking about such a large number of needed signatures, that any inflation would have a negligible effect. On the other hand, if it starts to garner millions of signatures, there may be forces trying to reduce the count, which is why screen captures (or something else) could be helpful. Considering that this post has only gotten 111 views so far (and I know of no one else trying to spread the word via other blogs, email, etc.), I think it is a bit too early to worry about fraud, but I understand your concerns.

Do you feel that the Church should be bound by an online poll of members that called for giving women the Priesthood?

I don’t think the church would ever use such a method. We’ve always done our voting in person, in meetings, and I suspect that that practice will continue. But it an interesting question.

Additionally, I submit that as a legal document, falsifying a W-4 would fall under baring false witness since it would be the primary evidence used in court.

I wonder if all of these documents we must fill out in order to get a job are not a form of duress? Sure, some one could say, “Yeah, but you are not forced to sign.” But then, if you don’t sign and fill out that form, nobody will give you a job, for working “off the books” is “illegal,” and then you are forced not to eat. So, it does seem to be a form of extortion. Is not extortion fraudulent? In other words, if the form itself is based upon the fraud that there is no right to work and keep all of what you earn (no withholding), then how can you falsify a false form? Bartering with silver or something else through independent contracting gets around the issue, but until companies become willing to do that, one must submit to the withholding racket or starve.

You could work for yourself as an independent contractor or freelancer, which would make it so you don’t have to worry about W-4’s and such.

The downside of course is that 100% of all taxes owed have to come from you and the IRS is pretty good about tracking people down.

Alternatively, I remember reading about a guy in CA who, back in the 1990’s renounced his US citizenship and declared himself a citizen of the State of CA. He no longer had to pay Federal Income tax or SSDI tax, but also couldn’t freely travel outside of CA without essentially a passport and visa for each state he wanted to visit. But, since he worked for himself on a ranch that supplied all his needs, he felt it was worth the trade-off.